Alabama Road Trip #2 Somewhere off the backroads of Bibb County, Alabama, the woods still breathe heat. You can almost feel it rising from the ground — the faint ghost of a fire that burned for four decades and forged an empire. When Dusty and I pulled into West Blocton Coke Ovens Park, we didn’t … Read more
They say you can still hear the hammers ringing at Sloss Furnaces, echoing through the smoke and iron that built Birmingham’s name. But when Dusty and I first tried to visit, the only sound we heard was Murph laughing in the distance. Round One: When Murph Closed the Gates This stop was supposed to be … Read more
Alabama Road Trip #2 | Travel Made Personal A Leap Into Story Dusty and I didn’t exactly plan to stop here. Lover’s Leap was one of those bonus surprises you only find when you leave the itinerary loose enough for curiosity. We’re both afraid of heights, so stepping onto a rock shelf above Shades Creek … Read more
Alabama Road Trip #2 | Side Road Saturday We were headed to chase ghosts, if I remember right.A haunted house, a tip, a rumor. But then a brown sign blinked past our window: Claybank Log Church. Dusty and I locked eyes.The brakes answered before we did. There’s something magical about unplanned stops—the kind that don’t … Read more
If you’ve ever wandered into a cemetery expecting silence and stone, you might be surprised by the sound of your own heartbeat quickening. That’s how it felt the first time I stepped up to Little Nadine’s Playhouse Mausoleum in Lanett, Alabama. It looks like something lifted straight out of a childhood storybook: a tiny brick … Read more